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INDIA 


Questions and Answers 


FOR USE OF 


Junior Missionary Societies 


PREPARED BY 
MISS ANNA F. GIVEN. 


REVISED BY 
REV. J. W. BALLANTYNE 


1914. 


Women’s General Missionary Society of 
the United Presbyterian Church. 


Publication Building, - Pittsburgh, Pa. 


SDIYIRSU.Q 0000000000 ESO ESE SSE 


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§ 


INDIA 


Questions and Answers For the Use of 


Junior Missionary Societies. 


PART I. 


1. Where is India? 

India is a great peninsula, extending from 
the Southern part of the continent of Asia 
into the Indian ocean. 

2. How large is India? 

It is about ‘half as large as the United 
States, not counting Alaska. 

3. How do missionaries go to India? 

They go in steampships across the Atlantic 
ocean to England, where they board another 
vessel which carries them to one of the sea- 
ports of India. Some missionaries cross the 
continent of Europe by rail and sail from 
one of the Mediterranean ports to India. 

4. How far is India from America? 

Tt is about 10,000 miles from New York to 
Bombay, or Karrachi, ports on the Western 
coast of India. 

5. What is the climate in India? 

Tropical. 

6. What are the seasons in India? 

The hot, rainy and cold. 

7. Describe the hot season. 

In the Punjab, the hot season begins about 
the first of March and lasts until “about the 


first of July. At the first of April, it is un- 
comfortably warm, the thermometer often 
rising to 120 F. in the shade. The heat is 
most intense in June when the thermometer 
sometimes stands at 160 degrees F. in the 
sun.. Foreign residents close their houses 
early in the day to keep out the heat, and 
work outdoors can be done safely only in the 
early morning and late in the evening. About 
the first of April, hot, scorching winds begin 
to blow.- Occasionally there is a dust storm, 
which is a wind storm carrying with it the 
dust of the plains, over which it sweeps, some- 
times producing total darkness, and dangerous 
to man and beast. This is usually followed by 
a shower of rain. 


8. Describe the rainy season. 


The rainy season begins in North India 
about the first of July and lasts until the 
middle of September. There are heavy 
showers almost daily, which are usually sue- 
ceeded by sunshine and intense moist heat. 
The rivers become flooded, and sometimes 
much damage is done to property. The plains, 
which during the hot season were dry and 
baked, are soon green with vegetation. 


9. Describe the cold season. 


In North India, the cold season lasts from 
the middle of September until the last of 
March, December and January being the cold- 
est, with a little frost. In Southern India 
the temperature is very much the same all 
the year. Gardens are made and wheat sown. 
in October. The nights are cool and some- 
times frosty, and fires are needed in the 
houses, but it is always warm in the sun. 


2 


In December, the oranges are ripe and roses 
are finest in the gardens then and in March. 


10. When is the harvest season in India? 


There are different seasons for different 
crops, but the principal harvest season is in 
April. Wheat and barley are then cut. 


11. What are the chief products of North 
India? 


Wheat, barley, dal (a kind of lentiles), rice, 
cotton and sugar cane. 


12. What is the population of India? 
About 300,000,000. 


13. Describe the personal appearance of 
the natives of India. 


The better class of the people in the North 
of India are tall, slender and well formed, 
with straight, black hair, dark eyes, regular 
features and often perfect teeth. The color 
of the skin is brown, ranging from the lightest 
to black. 


14. Describe the dress of the people. 


In North India the men wear turbans, loose 
shirts,—worn outside,—loose coats, loose 
trousers, tight below the knee, and low shoes. 
The women of the Punjab wear loose, baggy 
trousers, tight at the ankles, a loose shirt 
over these, and a veil thrown over the head 
and shoulders. Sometimes a wide skirt is 
sworn instead of the trousers. Jewelry is worn 
on ears, nose, forehead, neck, arms, wrists, 
fingers, ankles and toes. The jewelry of the 
rich is very costly. The ornaments of the 
poor are of cheap material. The dress of the 
children resembles that of. their parents. 


3 


15. Describe the houses of the people. 

Rich people live in high, brick houses, often 
very handsome without, but dark within. The 
masses of the people live in low mud dwellings 
with flat roofs, without windows, and with no 
light or ventilation except from the door. 
Most of the houses are built around a court 
from which a door opens into the street. 


16. What is the furniture of an ordinary 
Indian home? 


One or two charpais or bedsteads, one or 
two vessels for cooking, a knife and spoon, 
one or two water vessels and a cup for drink- 
ing, a stool, a spinning wheel, a few mats, 
sometimes a stone hand-mill for grinding 
grain, a primitive lamp, and sometimes a box 
which is used as a trunk. 

17. What may be said of the cities of 
India? 


In some of the cities there are splendid 
palaces, temples and mosques. There are also 
fine public buildings erected by the English 
government. The wealthy classes of the 
people live in the cities and have well-built 
and well-furnished houses, There are a few 
wide streets, but most of them are very nar- 
row and dirty. Parts of the city are always 
devoted to bazars and markets. The majority 
of the people live in low, mud houses. 


18. Describe a Punjabi village, (or describe 
a village in the Punjab.) 


“It is a collection of low mud houses in a 
field. The houses open into the narrow, dirty 
lanes of the village, only a few doors break- 
ing the mud wall seen from without. There 
are a few trees and one or two wells. There 


4 


is usually an open space where men sit and 
talk in the evening. . Where there are Mo- 
hammedans there is always a mosque or Mo- 
hammedan worshipping place. Where there 
are Hindus there is an idol temple or shrine. 
The low caste people have their mud idols. 
Farmers do not live in isolated houses, but 
in these villages, and the fields surrounding 
the village belong to them. 


PART II. 


19. What are some of the employments of 
the people in India? 

They engage in all sorts of business and 
farming. Many are in government service, 
while some are in the army. 


20, What are the modes of travel in India? 

Railways, street cars, carriages, carts, ek- 
kahs (springless buggies), palanquins and 
ponies. “ Many people take long journeys on 
foot. 


21. What is the food of the people? 


They live largely on vegetable food. The 
bread is made of coarse flour mixed with 
water and baked in thin cakes. With this 
they eat sag or greens, or dal (a kind of 
lentiles). Sometimes they have dal and rice, 
or curry and rice. Much pepper is used and 
other spices, in cooking native food. Mo- 
hammedans use all sorts of meat except pork, 
which they consider an abomination. The 
Hindus do not eat beef. The outcasts eat 
anything, even carrion. All classes smoke the 
hukka or water-pipe. 


22. What is a zenana? 


It is the name applied to the quarters of 
the women who are shut up in their homes 
and not allowed to go about freely in the 
streets. They are allowed to see no men but 
near relations. Mohammedan women who 
live in close seclusion are called purdah 
n'shin or dwellers behind the curtain. Forty 
millions are prisoners of the zenana. Women 
of the poorer classes are not thus seeluded. 


23. What is peculiar about the households 
in India? 


When a son marries he does not go into’ 
a house of his own, but brings his wife home 
to live with his parents and other members 
of the family. The wife must obey her 
mother-in-law, who is often unkind and some- 
times cruel. Where several families live to- 
gether, there is often much quarreling among 
the women. 


24. What are the employments .of the 
women? 


They cook and serve their husband’s meals. 
They spin and sometimes embroider, and a 
few learn to read the books of their religions. 
Mueh time is spent in quarreling and gossip- 
ing. The women of the villages sometimes 
assist in field work. 

25. 


India? 


What diseases are most prevalent in 


Cholera and kindred troubles, liver and 
spleen diseases, and fevers of all sorts. Eye 
troubles are numerous and severe, and many 
people are blind. There are many lepers and 
wretched beggars. The black plague has re- 


6 


cently been carrying off thousands in some 
parts of India, but more people die every year 
from fever than from any other cause. 


26. We often hear of famine in India. 
Why is this? 


The population of the country is dense. 
Many of the people are in debt to the mer- 
chants and are obliged to pay exorbitant in- 
terest. Often most of a -farmer’s crops go 
to these money lenders. Even in a good year 
it is hard for the poor to get enough to eat 
and wear, for the wages of a common laborer 
are only about ten cents per day. When there 
is little rain, the shop-keepers raise the price 
of grain until it becomes impossible for the 
poor to buy, and much suffering results. 
Wheat is often stored in pits during a time 
of plenty, and when famine comes, this decay- 
ing grain is sold to the starving people at 
high rates by the merchants. 


PART III. 


27. When did Europeans first settle in 
India? 


The Portuguese settled Goa, north of Bom- 
bay, in 1510. The Dutch made a settlement 
on the eastern coast in 1580. They were fol- 
lowed by the British in 1599, who established 
a factory at Surat, north of Madras in 1612. 


28. What nation now governs India? 


The British, who have gradually conquered 
the country. King George is now called 
Emperor of India. 


“I 


29. What is the policy of Great Britain 
in regard to missions? 

Missionaries are protected, but no special 
favor is given to them or to those natives 
who become Christians. 


30. What is Great Britain doing for the 
education of the people? 


Government schools are maintained in* al- 
most every city and large town for the educa- 
tion of native boys and young men. There 
are also some schools for girls. No religious 
instruction is given in any of these schools. 
Government aid is given under certain. con- 
ditions to mission schools as well as to the 
religious schools of Hindus and Mohamme- 
dans. 


31. How is British power maintained in 
India? 

Notwithstanding the mild and usually just 
character of the British rule, many of the 
natives are so restless under foreign control, 
that British authority is only maintained by 
means of military forces stationed in all 
the great cities and at important places on 
the frontier. Rawal Pindi is one of the most 
important military stations. 


32. What are the principal religions of 
India? 

Hinduism, Mohammedanism and Buddhism. 

We do not come in contact with the latter 
in our mission field. There are several other 
religions, and, besides these, many people 
are becoming Christians. 

33. How many gods do the Hindus wor- 
ship? 

About 330,000,000. 


34. What are some of these gods? 


Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are the principal 
deities. Besides these there are many in- 
ferior gods and goddesses; gods of gold, sil- 
ver, copper, stone and even of mud. Rivers, 
streams and mountains are worshipped, as 
well as sacred trees, Cows, monkeys, and pea- 
cocks and many other things. 


35. What is caste? ‘ 


Caste is the name given to the hereditary 
classes into which Hindus are divided. Hin- 
duism teaches that Brahma created four 
classes of people: 1. The Brahmans, or 
priests; 2. The Kshatryas, or soldiers; 3. 
The Vaisyas, or farmers and merchants; 4. 
The Sudras, or mechanics and laborers. Hach 
caste has many sub-divisions, and besides all 
these are the pariahs or outcasts. 


36. What is the result of caste upon the 
lives of the people? 


People of different castes may not eat or 
drink together. They may not inter-marry 
or have much social intercourse. <A low caste 
must not allow his shadow to fall on a high 
caste, or on his food. He must always give 
a high caste right of way. He cannot hope 
to. rise into a higher caste, while a high 
caste can fall only by breaking caste rules. 


37. What is the result of caste upon mis- 
sion work? 


When a Hindu becomes a Christian, he is 
regarded as an outcast and denied the fel- 
lowship of his family and friends. Caste is 
one of the greatest obstacles to mission work. 


9 


38. What is child marriage? 


The parents and relations of children ar- 
range for their marriage while they are very 
young. The little ones have no power or 
choice in the matter. Boys are usually mar- 
ried when about twelve or fourteen years of 
age, and girls between‘ the ages of five and 
ten and even younger. If the husband or 
betrothed dies, even if the widow is still a 
child, she must remain a widow all her life. 


39. What is Sutteeism? 


The custom of burning widows alive with 
the dead bodies of their husbands. This cus- 
tom has been abolished by the British gov- 
ernment. 


40. How many widows are there in India 
and how are they treated? 


There are about 22,000,000 widows now in 
all India. They are doomed to lives of drudg- 
ery and misery. Their jewels and good clothes 
are usually taken from them, and they are 
often treated with cruelty. Death is a wel- 
come release to most of these poor creatures. 


41. What is infanticide? 


The murder of infants. In a Hindu home 
the birth of a daughter is considered a ¢a- 
lamity, especially if there are no sons in the 
family. Formerly great numbers of baby girls 
were murdered every year in India, and even 
boys were sometimes murdered by throwing 
them to the crocodiles in the River Ganges 
as a sacrifice to the gods. But infanticide 
has been abolished by the government, al- 
though many girl children are still secretly 
killed. 


10 


42. What is woman’s position.in Hindu- 
ism ? 


Degraded in the extreme. A woman is her 
husband’s property, his slave. A Hindu 
writer says: ‘‘The husband is the wife’s 
religion, the wife’s sole business, the wife’s’ 
all in all. When the husband is pleased, 
Brahma is pleased. As there is often no 
love between husband and wife, the misery 
of the poor woman cannot be imagined. 


43. What is Mohammedanism? 


Mohammedanism is a system of religion 
founded by a man named Mohammed, who 
was born in Arabia, about the year 570 A. D., 
and who professed to receive revelations from 
God. These revelations are contained in a 
book called the Koran. Mohammedans claim 
that the Koran has taken the place of the 
Bible. 


44. How was Mohammedanism  propa- 
gated? ; 

Chiefly by the sword. Their ery was, 
‘“The Koran or Death.’’ In consequence of 
the invasion and settlement of portions of 
India by Mohammedan Arabs, and by the 
Moghuls, many of the natives of India be- 
came Mohammedans. There are more than 
50,000,000 of that faith now in India. 


45. What success do Christian missions 
have among Mohammedans? 


Although Mohammedans as a class are. 
bitterly hostile to Christianity, yet more con- 
verts are made from them than from among 
the Hindus. A number of our Christians 
have been Mohammedans. 


11 


46. What are the customs of the Moham- 
medans? 


The Mohammedans have not so many cus- 
toms as the Hindus, but they have become 
affected by some of their caste prejudices. 
Feasts and fasts and the season of prayer 
are carefully observed by ‘‘the faithful.’’? Al- 
though they profess a horror of idols they 
worship at the tombs of eminent and pious 
Mohammedans and keep lights burning there 
at night. 


47. Who are the Sikhs? 


The Sikhs are found chiefly in the Punjab, 
where they were once a powerful nation. 
Their last ruler, Dhuleep Singh, was deposed 
by the British in 1849. The Sikhs are the 
followers of a man named Nanuck, who was 
born more than 400 years ago in Lahore. He 
was a Brahman who became disgusted with 
idolatry and founded a new religion. 


48. What are his teachings and how have 
the Sikhs degenerated? 


Nanuck taught his followers, ‘‘to worship 
one Supreme Being, to practice strict moral- 
ity and to live by the sword.’’ The Sikhs 
have gradually relapsed into idolatry, and now 
even their sacred book, called the ‘‘Grunth,’’ 
is worshipped. They are, however, a class 
of people superior to the Hindus. Their sacred 
language is Gurmukhi. 


49. Mention two reforming sects of Hin- 
duism. ‘ 


The Brahma Somaj and the Arya Somaj. 
The followers of these sects try to reform 
Hinduism while remaining Hindus. 


12 


50. What are fakers? 


Fakers (fakeers) are men who in pursuit 
of holiness separate themselves from their 
families and live as hermits and beggars, 
sometimes giving themselves up to medita- 
tion and self-torture, but as often living in 
sensual indulgence. A woman who chooses 
a wholly religious life is called a fakirni. 


51. What is the language of the people of 
India? 


Urdu or Hindustani is spoken all over India 
by the educated classes, but each province 
has its own particular language spoken by 
the common people, most of whom understand 
no other. Our missionaries learn Hindustani, 
and Punjabi, which is the language of, the 
Punjab. Many learn to read Gurmukhi, the 
sacred language of. the Sikhs. Hindi and 
Persian are studied by some of the mission- 
aries. 


PART IV. 


52. What country first sent Protestant mis- 
sionaries to India? 

Denmark, in 1705, 

53. Mention three early missionaries to 
India? 

Christian Frederick Swartz, of Germany, 
whe went to India in 1750; William Carey, 
of England, who went in 1798, and Dr. Duff, 
of Scotland, who began his work in Calcutta 
in 1830. 


13 


54. When and by whom was the first 
American Mission commenced in India? 

In 1834 the Ameriean Presbyterian Mission 
was commenced in North India by the Rey. 
John C. Lowrie. 


55. When was the American United Pres- 
byterian Mission founded in India? 


In 1855. 
56. Who were the first missionaries? 


Rev. and Mrs. Andrew Gordon and Miss 
KMlizabeth G. Gordon. 


57. What part of India was chosen for our 
mission field? 

The Punjab, a province in North India, 
which had then been but a short time under 
British control. Most of the Punjab is a great 
plain. Along its northern frontier rise the 
mighty Himalayas. : 

58. Where was our first mission station? 

At Sialkot, which is an old city of about 


45,000 inhabitants, and near which is a large 
military station. 


59. Through what terrible experience did 
our missionaries safely pass in 1857? 

The Sepoy mutiny. 

60. When were the first converts baptized ? 

In the autumn of 1857. 

61. Name the districts which have been 
occupied by our mission. 

Sialkot, Pasrur, Gujranwala, Zafarwal, 
Jhelum, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Rawal Pindi, 
Bhera or Sargodha, Lyallpur, Khangah Dog- 
ran and Sangla Hill. 


14 


62. How is each district sub-divided? 

Into stations and sub-stations, the latter 
under the care of native workers. 

63. How many foreign missionaries have - 
been sent to the field since the mission was 
founded? 


One hundred and thirty-seven, counting 
ordained and unordained missionaries, their 
wives and the unordained lady missionaries. 

64. How large is our field, and what is its 
population? 

Then entire length from southeast to north- 
west is nearly 300 miles, with an average 
width of 150 to 200 miles. The population is 
about 5,000,000. 

65. How many people are there to each 
ordained missionary ? 

About 200,000. 


66. How many Christians are there under 
the care of our missionaries? 

In 1913 there were 29,525 adult members, 
18,661 baptized children and 6054 catechu- 
mens, a total Christian community of 54,240. 

67. How many native ministers and work- 
ers are there? 

In 1913 there were: Ordained Native Minis- 
ters, 36; Licentiates, 11; Theological Students, 
22; Colporteurs, 11; Bible Women, 50; Other 
Evangelistic Workers, 104; Christian Teach- 
ers, 202; Non-Christian Teachers, 209; Hos- 
pital Assistants, 9; Nurses, 21. Total, 655. 

68. How many congregations have been 
organized? 

In 19138 there were 53 organized congrega- 
tions and of these 30 are self-supporting. 


15 


69. From what class do the greater part 
of our converts come? 


From the Chuhras or Sweeper class. 


70. Who are the Chuhras? 


The Chuhras are among the lowest of the 
people in the Punjab. They are regarded as 
unclean and are required to live in separate 
quarters in the village. 

They act as servants to the farmers, assist- 
ing them in the fields. They do also the street 
cleaning and any dirty work in city and 
country. They are not allowed to touch the 
food of their masters or draw water from the 
wells. 


The women do the scavenger work of the 
village and carry away the filth of the houses 
in baskets upon their heads. The condition 
of these people has greatly improved in recent 
years, many of them becoming quite in- 
dependent of the farmers by renting land 
and becoming their own masters. 


Brick making and trading in hides fur- 
nishes independent livelihood to increasing 
numbers. 

The most of the Chuhras are descended 
from the Aborigines of the country and have 
darker skins than the higher classes. They 
worship an idol made of mud, called Bali 
Shah. 


71. How do these people receive the 
Gospel? 


In some eases, they are indifferent and 
even hostile, but usually the missionaries are 
weleomed and their teachings joyfully re- 
ceived. There are so many Christian and 


16 


inquirers from this class that it is hard to 
find teachers enough for them. 


72, Where do most of the Christians live? 


In villages scattered over the districts. 


73. What method do the missionaries find 
best for reaching the people? 


They go on tenting tours through their 
districts, camping from village to village. 
This can be done, in the greater part of our 
field, only in the cold season. In the hot 
season the missionaries can visit only those 
villages within a few miles of the mission 
houses or near travelers’ bungalows; but there 
is always much work to be done in mission 
centers. 


74. Besides the regular work in the mis- 
sion centers, what special work is done dur- 
ing the hot season in almost every district? 


The native helpers from the district come 
together to study the Bible and to seek 
spiritual advancement, and are formed into 
schools which continue for several weeks. 
The men are instructed by the ordained mis- 
sionaries; their wives by the lady mission- 
aries, 


75. Why are female physicians especially 
necessary in India? 

The customs o1 the country require the 
seclusion of women. So close is this seelu- 
sion among many of the higher classes that no 
matter how ill a woman may be a male physi- 
cian is not permitted to see her. 


17 


PART V. 


76. What are the general methods of work 
pursued by our missions, and by all missions 
in India? 


The Gospel is preached among the masses 
in halls, churches and streets, or wherever 
an audience may be obtained. The women 
are reached by the lady missionaries, who 
have access also to the homes of the people. 
Schools are established where the secular in- 
struction is accompanied by Bible teaching 
and Sabbath schools are conducted. Christian 
literature is circulated, and reading rooms 
are founded. Pastoral work is done among 
the native Christians, and much attention is 
given to their instruction and to the eduea- 
tion, training and direction of mission work- 
ers. Hospitals and dispensaries are established 
for the sick by medical missionaries. In 
these, religious instruction is imparted to the 
sufferers. 


77. Wow many hospitals have been estab- 
lished in our mission? 


There are four hospitals, located at Sialkot, 
Jhelum, Sargodha and Pasrur, also branch dis- 
pensaries at Bhera, Kala, ‘Pathankot. 


78. What is the especial work of the pete 
missionaries ? 


The instruction of the women and girls in 
Bible truth. Heathen’women are visited in 
their homes and taught the way of salvation. 
Much time is given to the instruction of the 
native Christian women, and in the super- 
vision of girls’ schools. 


18 


79. How many schools are there under the 
care of our missionaries? 


Schools of all grades, 207. 


80. How many pupils are enrolled in these 
schools? 


There are non-Christians reading, 8112; 
Christian boys reading, 2216; Christian girls 
reading, 803. Total, 11131. 


81. Where are the largest schools for boys 
located? 

In Gujranwala, Rawal Pindi and Sialkot. 
Almost all the boys and young men in at- 
tendance at these schools are non-Christian. 
There is a college department in connection 
with the schoo] at Rawal Pindi. 


82. Where are the largest schools for non- 
Christian girls located? 


At Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawal Pindi and 
Jhelum. 


83. What educational institutions have 
been established at Sialkot for the benefit of 
the young native Christians of our mission? 


The Christian Training Institute, the Christ: 
ian Girls’ Boarding School and the *Theolog- 
ical Seminary. 


84. What is the object of the Christian 
Training Institute? 


To give the native Christian boys a good 
Christian education, and to fit them for be- 
coming teachers and preachers among their 
people. 


*Note: The Theological Seminary has re- 
cently been transferred to Gujranwala. 


1) 


85. What is the object of the Christian 
Girls’ Boarding School? 

To give the native Christian girls a good 
Christian education, and a thorough training 
in the art of housekeeping, thus fitting them 
to become teachers of others as well as good 
wives for the native Christian young men. 

86. What is the object of the Theological 
Seminary? 

To furnish the church in India with a well- 
trained native ministry. 

87. What provision is made for the educa- 
tion of Christian boys and girls in their vil- 
lages? 

Schools are established in many of the 
villages, which are sometimes attended by all 
classes. 

88. How many Sabbath schools are there? 

Sabbath Schools, 170; Sabbath School 
Teachers, ‘241; Sabbath School Scholars, 6453. 


89. How many native Christians are there 
in the whole of India, including Bombay and 
Burma? 


Nearly three millions. 
90. In what way can we help our India 
Mission? 


By words of encouragement, by prayers, by 
gifts and by going into active service in the 
mission fields. 


91.. What is the total of native contribu- 
tions to the work in India? 


In 1913, $31,275.00. 


92. What is the total contributions of the 
home church to work in India? 


In 19138, $151,499.62. 


20 


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